Charles Beaumont is not this author’s real name; it’s the nom de plume of a former MI6 operative who now writes novels. And “A Spy Alone” and “A Spy at War,” which are part of his Oxford Spy Ring series, are terrific, very contemporary tales that are best-sellers in the U.K. Here, he dead-dropped his responses to the Book Pages Q&A.
Q. Please tell readers about your new books, “A Spy Alone” and “A Spy at War.”
“A Spy Alone” is the first book in the Oxford Spy Ring trilogy. These are contemporary espionage thrillers that draw heavily on real events to tell stories about the world we live in. In “A Spy Alone,” Simon Sharman, a British former intelligence officer eking out a living in the private sector, is commissioned to investigate a Russian oligarch who wants to make a major donation to Oxford University. As he does so, Sharman starts to suspect that he’s uncovering a deeper conspiracy: a Russian spy ring at the heart of the British Establishment, recruited while students at Oxford University.
In the sequel, “A Spy at War,” Simon Sharman is in war-torn Ukraine, pursuing the killer of one of his colleagues. As a disinformation campaign unfolds in the West to undermine support for Ukraine, Sharman travels to the frontlines in the Donbas. Betrayal and suspicion abound as it’s unclear who Sharman can trust in this most dangerous of places.
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Q. It’s said that you write under a pseudonym and were formerly an undercover M16 operative. What can you tell readers about your work and how it has influenced your writing?
I served in British intelligence for more than a decade in various places around the world. There isn’t much I can say about that work, but I can say that having lived those experiences has helped me enormously in my writing. It’s not that I seek to put specific incidents into the novels, but knowing what it feels like to be followed, or to recruit a source, or to spend time in a war zone, all helps to give the writing a sense of immediacy and reality.
Q. There have been a number of novelists who were spies or in the service. Why do you think these two lines of work converge?
Intelligence work is all about understanding human motivations – what drives people, what their loyalties are, what might make them betray their country or work for another. Themes of betrayal, loyalty and uncertainty make for good stories and I think this is why several successful spy novelists have a background in the intelligence profession, such as John le Carré, Graham Greene, or, in our own period, David McCloskey and I.S. Berry.
Q. What is it about Oxford that makes it such a good setting for fiction?
Oxford is a magical place, where centuries of history and scholarship combine to create an unforgettable atmosphere and one that is familiar to many readers, even ones that might never have been there in person. It’s a city of narrow passageways and winding streets, a perfect setting for a spy novel. Its significance in British culture and society means that it is also the perfect place for a novel about the state of Britain.
Q. Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?
A spy novel that I always recommend is “The Company” by Robert Littell – a brilliant, epic tale that gives the reader a history of the CIA from its inception up to the collapse of the Soviet Union, weaving numerous historic events into the narrative whilst telling the story of a decades-long mole hunt. It has a brilliant cast of characters and is beautifully written.
Q. What are you reading now?
I’ve been reading “The Persian” by my friend, the former CIA officer David McCloskey. He’s a brilliant writer of modern espionage fiction, but in this book he branches away slightly from his previous books set around the CIA to write about the fascinating and gripping story of the secret war between Israel and Iran. The book, like all of McCloskey’s, is highly believable at the same time as being thrilling, exciting and also drily funny.
Q. Do you remember the first book that made an impact on you?
I am not sure if it was the first book that had an impact, but an early favourite was “Knight Crusader” by Ronald Welch. He wrote historical novels that were richly researched and – perhaps surprisingly for their era – full of balance and insight. In “Knight Crusader,” a young nobleman from the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem joins battle against the armies of Saladin and ends up a prisoner in Damascus, where he experiences the civilisation and sophistication of his Arab enemies. It’s a ripping adventure story, but also one that gave me an early fascination for the Middle East and the complex mosaic of cultures and religions in that region.
Q. Is there a book or type of book you’re reluctant to read?
I tend to avoid horror. I find thrillers are gripping and exciting, sometimes terrifying. But with horror, I struggle to get the point.
Q. Can you recall a book that felt like it was written with you in mind (or conversely, one that most definitely wasn’t)?
A book which I have enjoyed reading and re-reading is “Foucault’s Pendulum” by Umberto Eco. It’s a long, complex and at times obscure story, but it’s fascinating, hilarious and I always get something new from it every time. I like the idea that there may be secrets in our world that few are party to, but I also realise these are often just an excuse for ridiculous conspiracies. Eco creates a sense of mystery whilst at the same time poking fun at the whole idea.
Q. Do you have a favorite character or quote from a book?
I have many! As a good old-fashioned hero, you can’t beat Richard Hannay from John Buchan’s novels (most famously “The Thirty-Nine Steps”). As an antihero, Tom Ripley is brilliant, as you feel some sympathy for him even as he is a dishonest psychopath. I love Harriet Vane in Dorothy L Sayers’ novels: she has a brilliant resilience and is a bit of a model for the character of Sarah du Cane in my novels.
As for my favourite quote, it comes from “Foucault’s Pendulum”: “the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it.”
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